A Masculine Birthday Card with Artistry and Zoe

Oh my goodness, how is it that a birthday can just SNEAK up on you like that???  Does anyone else understand that, or am I the only one who habitually sends birthday cards a teeny bit late?  Anyone? 

Sigh, anyway, my FIL had his 69th birthday this past weekend, and I needed something FAST!  (Thank goodness he was out of town, so it bought me another day, lol.)  I had a TON of cuts from the NEW Cricut Artistry Collection laying around, so I grabbed a couple of them and had a card put together quicker than you can say, "The mailman is coming!"  ;)

The party hat cut is easy to use in any color scheme you like.  I paired it with the happy birthday sentiment cut in White Daisy.  The papers and cardstock (except the Sweet Leaf) are all included in the Zoe Paper Packet from Close to My Heart, so I knew it all coordinated before I even started. 

Embellishing is super fun with freehand stitching and lines drawn both on the hat and around the edges of the pattern paper.  I also distressed the edges heavily with Slate Exclusive Ink.  Those little enamel stars were originally white.  I used my ShinHan touch Twin Alcohol Ink Marker in Golden Yellow to easily change them. 

Yep, it was that easy!  :)

September is National Stamping Month!

September Stamp of the Month

Damask Divas Zoe Blog Hop!

Welcome to my blog and the Damask Divas Zoe Blog Hop!  If you came from Jamie's blog, then you are in the right place.  If not, you can check out the rest of the amazing blog line-up over at the Damask Divas Blog HERE.

There is something SO refreshing about a NEW Idea Book FULL of new, well, IDEAS! Of course, the NEW PRODUCTS are just icing on the cake, and ZOE is an icing I couldn't wait to take a taste of!  ;)

For my project, I made a card for my latest Hostess with the Mostess to thank her for opening her house for me to share our fabulous Close to My Heart products.  I even found a clever way to use the new Zoe Complements that allows her to use them AGAIN on a project!  Take a look!

See those stars and the striped horizontal strip behind the sentiment?  They are actually stickers included in the new Zoe Complements!

The sentiment and frame are images from the August 2015 Stamp of the Month--Framed!

I trimmed them out with my Non-stick Micro-Tip Scissors with a border so I could leave them on the backing and attach them to the card.  Now my hostess is free to use them on one of HER creations!  :)

The border is printed right on the carrier sheet, so super easy to trim out!

See the faceted cut on the round accent from the Zoe Assortment?

Here is a complete list of products I used...

Value Pack White Daisy 4.25 x 5.5 Cards with Envelopes
White Enamel Stars
Black and Grey Glitter Paper
Zoe Paper Packet NEW!
Zoe Assortment NEW!
Zoe Compliments NEW!
Canary Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
Slate Exclusive Inks Stamp Pad
August 2015 Stamp of the Month--Framed NEW!
Cricut Artistry Collection NEW!
Cricut Artistry Collection DIGITAL!  NEW!!!

You made it to the end of the hop!  You can start at the beginning with Mandy's Blog HERE.  I hope we really got your juices flowing with these amazing new products!  Remember, you can find the entire line up of Divas participating over at the Damask Divas Blog!

Here are the page numbers to find these cuts and the size to set the height on your Cricut or in DS and CCR!

Card Workshop Wrap-Up on Wednesday!

Whew!  I wanted to give you guys a quick peek at what the lovely ladies at my private card workshop this past week cooked up.  I knew that most of them were beginner stampers, so I wanted to keep things pretty straightforward.  Here is one of the simple cards I taught them to make...

This card has simple stamping and very easy step by step directions to follow, nothing complicated. It features the fun Confetti Wishes Paper Packet and the Happy Everything My Acrylix Stamp set, both from Close to My Heart.  I also added some fun white enamel stars.

Well, would you believe those "beginners" came up with THESE???

Aren't they fantastic!?  It was certainly a pleasure to have them over to my Craft Cave to play!  :)

June ONLY!

FREE stamp with purchase!

Chalk It Up for Freshly Made Sketches

There is something about suddenly going from being a work-from-home-mom to a work-out-of-the-home mom that wreaks havoc on your schedule.  Haven't put my finger on it yet, but when the weekend hits, I am learning to get in some crafty time! 

Today I got to play with Freshly Made Sketches #152.  When I saw the sketch for the first time, I knew EXACTLY what to use for the shape!  Any other CTMH enthusiasts want to take a guess what I was thinking before you scroll any further?

It is one of the Picture My Life pocket cards from the Chalk It Up Kit! 

 This is one of the few times I have actually used the same shape as in the sketch...

Oh my gosh, this card literally came together all by itself.  I was going to add the Chalk It Up Assortment puffy sticker with glasses, but remembered there was a STAMP with glasses on the School Years My Acrylix that would fit the cookie PERFECTLY!

I had a little fun with the horizontal portion of the sketch to make up for my stuffiness, lol.  The Triangle Border Punch made the perfect little windows to show a bit of sparkle through the chalkboard B&T paper from the Chalk It Up Paper Packet.  Black Shimmer Trim is just too fun NOT to add!  :)

Now, I used the same little trick on this card that I did on my Halloween Shadow Box to place the white and black enamel stars.  Just cut the transparency they are on so you can place them on your project BEFORE you attach them.  Can all the perfectionists in the house say "I" with me?  ;)

My daughter will LOVE this card as a surprise in her lunch this week!  :)

Get it HERE!

Get your FREE #30yearsofhappy stamps HERE!!!

Damask Divas Scaredy Cat Blog Hop!

Welcome to my blog!  It is finally time for the next Damask Divas Blog Hop, and we are planning ahead for Halloween with the NEW Scaredy Cat Paper Packet from Close to My Heart, so come on in and enjoy the treats, but hopefully not any tricks!  (This Blog Hop officially begins on September 1st, so the links will be good to go then.)

You should have arrived from Kelly's Blog.  If not, just keep on hopping since this hop runs in a circle.  In case you get lost, the entire line up can be found over on the Damask Divas Blog.

My project is one that I have been wanting to do for quite a while now, but keeps getting put on hold when Halloween disappears so quickly.  Since we are showcasing this great Halloween themed paper a month ahead of time for you, I was able to get a huge jump on things this year!

These spooky cricut cuts are found on the Artbooking Cartridge exclusively available from Close to My Heart.  I love how easy it was to line the back of the haunted house with the orange pattern...

This adorable little fellow is found on the Frightfully Fun My Acrylix.  I just stamped him in Black Exclusive Ink and trimmed him out.

Notice that sparkle?  The NEW Purple Glitter Paper is perfect with Scaredy Cat!  This adorable quote is found in one of the pattern papers, and it happened to go PERFECTLY with my theme, so I just trimmed it out.  (Yep, that little candy corn was already there!)

The wonderful new White Enamel Stars are great on so many projects! 

If you happen to be a bit of a perfectionist (like me!) then just trim out the stars while they are on the clear backing and arrange them how you like before attaching them permanently.  That way you can get them all just right the first time!  ;)

I am so glad you are hopping with us today.  Now head off to Michele's Blog to see what she cooked up.  Have a great time soaking in the inspiration!  :)

Get yours HERE!

Check it out on my website HERE!